Throwaway account.
I desperately need advice on this, at this point I am basically all out of ideas besides pursuing legal action (which I am open to doing). I live in California and I have already reported this to the BBB and Attorney General, but I am not seeing any progress. At this point, I do not even care about the money. I am more concerned about pursuing this further so they cannot do this to someone else who does not have the funds or resources I do. Would like advice on how to proceed, adding a timeline of events below:

• I decided I want to clean out my closet. I happen to enjoy designer things (purses, shoes, watches, etc.) and decide I want to sell them if possible. I contact the online consignment shop TheRealReal as I have bought a few items from the site previously and figure I could easily make some money from cleaning out my closet.
• February 11, 2023 - A representative from TheRealReal comes to my home to pick up the items. I used this service specifically because I didn't want to deal with shipping (and if things were lost in the mail, the liability was not mine. More on that later). The woman shows up, takes pictures of everything I have (20 items total), and sends me a copy of the pictures and a list of everything she took with her. I'm told the items will be up and sold on the site within 2 - 3 weeks. The total of all items I would estimate is over $4000, however I am fine with getting a fraction of that back after selling and commission fees, I just wanted to get the stuff out of my house.
• March 22, 2023 - I reach out to The RealReal via their texting customer service chat inquiring about where my items were at in the process as it had been over 5 weeks and I had no updates. The customer service agent says they will investigate the issue.
• April 2, 2023 - I receive an email indicating they have received my items and are reviewing them for quality and pricing for their website
• April 4, 2023 - I receive another email indicating that they have reviewed and already sold 6 of my items. At this point I assume the items were not lost, but simply not attached to my account. They had been reviewed and sold weeks prior. The 6 items sold were of lower value (maybe $100 - $200 each item). I'm told I will receive a check in the mail for the items sold. (I have since received the check.)
• April 7, 2023 - I inquire again to ask where my higher priced items are at in the process and indicate that I'm unhappy about the updates and progress and would need to pursue more action if I don't receive clear communication. After this email, I am ghosted until I start a new email thread.
• April 14, 2023 - I follow up again asking the same as above.
• April 19, 2023 - I send a letter to The RealReal outlining the above and indicate I will pursue additional action if I do not hear back from someone about the status of my items as it had been 2 months. I sent this via email and via mail.
• April 28, 2023 - I receive the following email:
  • Thank you for your patience. After further investigation, we were unable to rectify our inventory regarding your above items. I can understand how frustrating this may be. Rest assured I am here to help make this right and have begun the payout process for these items. This means that I will send all of the information on file for the items in the package to our Merchandising team (photos, designer, style, condition, etc) so that they may price the items. Once priced, I will let you know exactly when you can expect to receive your payment, and how much it will be for. The RealReal will then "purchase" the item from you, and issue your commission as if it had sold on the website. We’re sorry that your experience with us wasn’t more positive and look forward to rectifying it as much as we can.
• I responded with the following:
  • Though I appreciate the response, the above solution does not rectify the 3.5 months of waiting for your company to come to this conclusion. You accepted a $700 pair of shoes and a $500 scarf, among many of my other items, and lost them. I utilized your in-home pick up service to avoid any issues with shipping. Before payment, I would like a detailed list of what the merchandising team prices the item to be worth, especially for the more expensive items that were sent (hermes scarf, louboutin shoes, amongst others). Based on your policy, items not sold would be returned to me. Because this is not an option (as you have indicated above that The Realreal has lost my items), I am expecting the full amount of the "sale" to be returned to me, as my items can no longer be returned. The "expected commission" is not an acceptable solution when the items cannot be appropriately evaluated because they are no longer in your possession.
• May 7, 2023 - After sending the above email, I have not received communication regarding the missing items. I chose to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in hopes they can move the needle.
• May 9 - 2023 - I receive an email that TheRealReal has received my complaint and are investigating. I receive follow up emails (unprompted) on May 11, 13, and 15 letting me know they are still investigating.
• May 15 - 2023 - I receive a check for the 6 items they were able to account for.

After this, I have no further communication from them. It's almost June and I still have no resolution. They have no accountability for the additional items they lost, and no one has reached out to indicate how much they are planning to "price" my items for.
TLDR: The RealReal accepted $4000 of designer items and lost them. They tell me they will pay me for my items, then ghost me. They have provided no updates or clarification after almost 4 months of back and forth. Need advice on what to do from here. Thanks!

So I just got started as an RCA in my town. Like, just finished my shadow day and heading to academy very soon. But, as an RCA I’m not too thrilled about delivering out of my own personal vehicle. I saw an opening for CCA for the next town over, what are the biggest differences between the two jobs? Do CCAs deliver out of LLVs and not their personal vehicles? Do they get more hours? As an RCA the post master in my office was saying I was gonna be working 2 days a week. Should I just call that office and ask them directly? Any help is appreciated

Been 'putting myself out there' for almost a year now and these are my high level observations of the NY market of guys in general.
Group 1: Married, open, or emotionally unavailable for whatever reason (e.g. just broke up with their ex). They are strictly looking for sex, only this, so won't integrate you into their friend circle or life in any other way outside of the bedroom even if they like you (if it even get's there; the sex must be convenient for them). I would say that these guys are generally more reactive/wholesome and will actually have a decent conversation with you at least.
Group 2: Single but something is "wrong" e.g. they are just too far away to even be able to hang out in person weekly, projecting / crazy, not ready for anything more than sex even if they claim they are, no time to actually hang out / integrate you in any way, have life plans for the next 1 year (holiday's etc) etc. Honestly, the sex is 'meh' at best with these guys in general. They seem so "sterile" in general.
Group 3: Online time wasters e.g. Tinder guys, who will speak briefly to you, add and then stalk you on Insta, but make little to no initiative to actually meet you.
Group 4: Transactional contract singles. Has a conversation with you, actually meets up with you, but it fizzles because you are not wanting a 'contract / arrangement' e.g. they are wanting someone to split rent with, someone to take insta pics with rather than an actual emotional connection.
I've spoken to a large number of couples (open, married, otherwise) and the large majority seem to be looking for something else, but are just too scared to take the steps to do anything, so operate in this "middle road" path where they get a "buffet" of things from different people and others are screwed over the process. A lot of couples I've seen (and they have even shared this with me) are borderline abusive and quite frankly not even a couple to one another, but its all branding and titles here.
This leads me to believe regardless of how much I "self improve" or "work on myself" there is literally no one for me and wonder if I should just hookup and give up on even trying for anything more. I can offer best sexual experience (several message after saying it was hot and we should meet again but rarely do), emotional connection (several will share things in person and open up etc but then literally vanish), anything really, but it won't be enough if there isn't a guy also reciprocating at the same level. With the number of options available, poor attention span particularly of the new generation and pressure of social media (no one will break a 'social media' relationship because of fear) it's just getting worse.
I'm starting to see why guys here are "not hopeful". At this point, I am tempted to just ask one of the married/open guys if we can just be fake BF's for a few months, just to get something more than what is out there.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• I am looking to build a pc that I can play Mw2, apex, gta5 and also stream (OBS)

What is your maximum budget before rebates and shipping

• $3000 cad

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• I can buy right away.

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• just the pc tower.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• I am in Northwest Territories in Canada.

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• I have the hyper x keyboard and mouse I bought 6 months ago.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• I’m not sure what overclocking is.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

• just a fast pc that won’t lag while streaming.

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• I would like black case with window in side and front. with purple lights.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• not sure

Extra info or particulars:

1: my door for my terrarium is VERY loud like it squeaks when opened. Anyone have any idea what I could put in it to make the squeaking go away that’s also safe for my gecko? 2: there seems to be fungus gnats in my substrate of my terrarium due to the moistness. Are they bad to have in my terrarium? And if so how do I safely get rid of them? Again without harming my gecko. Thanks! :)

Five months sober and I've managed to get through most of my triggers: it was a hard day at work, it's Friday, it's Sunday night and I have to go to work tomorrow, I'm mad at , boozy party, I'm bored, I'm hungry, family vacation to water park with swim up bar (spicy virgin bloody marys taste just as good as booze when sitting on a submerged bar stool), I don't feel like doing , job contract ended, can't find a new job, yay I have an interview scheduled so I should celebrate, interview stressed me out so I need to calm down, yay I got the job so I should celebrate...But my new job scheduled my (unbeknownst to them) first sober work trip for next week. I looked up the hotel on a map, then suddenly found myself figuring out nearby restaurants I could walk to so I didn't have to drive back drunk, locating a nearby grocery store so I could buy booze, checking out the hotel restaurant and if they'd deliver bottles of wine...and then I realized what I was doing. Nice try Alcohol! Not on THIS trip! Bad enough my introverted self has to be around people all day and has to deal with business lunch and dinners. I'm not crawling out of bed hung over for all-day meetings in overheated conference rooms where I have to try to stay awake, and be chipper and witty. Alcohol can f&&& the hell right off!

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right sub, if not please let me know and I can take this post down... I got into an accident two days ago with a seemingly undocumented/illegal immigrant (spoke no English), who had only a Guatemalan drivers license and was without insurance and had an expired car registration. I was driving normally at about 35-40 mph when the other party (going about 40-50 mph) ran a red and t-boned my car. The airbags in my car deployed and was not drive-able when asked by law enforcement if I could pull it over to the side to open up a few lanes that were blocked by my car. Some context that might matter: - I drive a Tesla Model Y, which I paid around $55k for (somewhat related: it failed to capture any footage). - I have Farmers Insurance, full coverage with uninsured motorist bodily injury included with a $15k limit per person and $30k per accident. - I had a friend in the front passenger side with me, which is the side that got hit. Fortunately, we are both okay (for now), but we plan to get any potential injuries checked out in the future. - This occurred in California. - This occurred at a busy intersection where all four corner businesses have cameras. I am confident that I can get footage from different angles. - Law enforcement was called and didn't really seem to care until I pointed out that the other car had knocked down a small pole (city property). They started writing an official report after that (I gave this case number to my insurance). - My vehicle is at a body shop nearby. The tow I used was through AAA. - I am currently unemployed (taking a break from corporate life), but I have a good (~740) credit score and am not in a dire financial situation. - The bystanders who first checked up on the other party kept saying he was "lit" and took his keys away from him. Me and friend tried getting the cops to check him with a breathalyzer but they said they didn't have one on them and that the ones that did were "busy". The Spanish-speaking cop who was talking with the other party did communicate to us that his speech did not appear to be impaired and that he wasn't slurring his words. As far as next steps are concerned, I am unsure of how to proceed. Everything should be more clear tomorrow (holiday today), but I need a car asap. I don't want to rent a car if I have to replace my old one anyway, as insurance covers only $25 a day. From browsing this sub and the web in general, I know insurance companies like to play lowball... which leads me to ask, it seems like my car is totaled... what are the steps to getting a new car? What do I do with my current vehicle's financing situation? How do I stand my ground to ensure that I get the full amount of my car's value and/or enough to cover a new car? Does my lack of income at the moment hinder my ability to obtain financing for a new car? Apologies if this seemed all over the place but would greatly appreciate any and all advice/help. TIA!

Hey, anyone ever come across this problem? We've been playing on Ground Zero server for awhile now, no problems with base, all the doors work fine. Then all of a sudden today we had to shuffle around some base walls, and it seems like the code locks we removed from those doors are bugged and only certain members of the group just cannot open those doors no matter what we try. As soon as you take the lock off they can open them. Are these code locks just screwed now? I worry because they are very expensive on this server.

Hi everyone! I am currently trying to modify some settings within OpenSSL. My goal is to change the default algorithms that OpenSSL uses for generating certificates and signatures, as well as the key exchange method. Specifically, I want OpenSSL to default to the ones provided by OQS (https://openquantumsafe.org/), Dilithium and Kyber.
I have already added the OQS version of OpenSSL to my computer and respective Docker containers. I have also confirmed that I can establish test connections between a client and server using Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms.
Here's what I used:
openssl s_server -key key.pem -cert cert.pem -tls1_3 -accept 443 (certificates are made with dilithium)
openssl s_client -groups kyber512 -connect 127.0.0.1:443 -tls1_3
However, if I do not explicitly mention '-groups kyber512', OQS defaults to using elliptic curves for the key exchange, which is not what I want because it is not quantum safe.
Ultimately, I plan to use this customized list (featuring Dilithium and Kyber) to establish a connection between a web server (equipped with OQS OpenSSL) and my computer (also with OQS OpenSSL), and hopefully to using dilithium and kyber as the default preferred options. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to accomplish this?
For context, to avoid breaking anything, both the web server and "my computer" are implemented in Docker containers, where I replace the default OpenSSL library.
As a result, if I inspect the communications with Wireshark, I expect to see that the algorithms I selected (Dilithium and Kyber) are indeed used for both signatures and key exchange.
Unfortunately, I haven't had any luck so far. Does anyone have any experience with this or any ideas on how to proceed?
Thank you in advance!

As the pack of Black Wolves swarmed the Wendigo, Elincia and I crawled behind the ferns trying to get away from the fight. Part of me knew I was being a burden to Elincia. With her night vision and elvish agility, she could probably break through the circle of Black Wolves.
The fight intensified, the chaotic barking of the wolves was deafening and the screeching cries of the Wendigo filled the valley as it clawed and crushed the lesser monsters in its wake.
Suddenly, a Black Wolf landed in front of us. Elincia's eyes were wide open and her face blanched, devoid of the little color it naturally had. The Black Wolf was wounded, its hind legs broken and its ribs exposed like white knives protruding through its skin. Elincia nocked an arrow but she wasn’t fast enough. The wolf let out a long howl before the arrow landed between its eyes.
Elincia’s eyes reflected pure and distilled terror as the Wendigo leaned over the ferns, just by our side, with its eyes fixed on the corpse of the Black Wolf. For a brief moment, the moon lit up the body of the monster. It was a tall bipedal creature with leathery slate-black skin. Its limbs were long and gnarled, and ended in long brackish claws. Its face was covered by an ivory deer-like skull. The slits in the skull revealed two bloodshot eyes that surveyed the surroundings with ill intent.
The System description said that the Wendigo was once a powerful shaman who got turned into a monster by corrupted mana. A shiver ran down my spine as I wondered what kind of unholy metamorphosis had created such a creature.
The Wendigo waded the fern bed, just above our hideout. I could hear the Wendigo’s heavy breathing above my head. The smell of rot was almost unbearable. Elincia covered her mouth with both hands as the creature’s arm touched the ground a few centimeters from my leg. I changed the weight of my body and tried to fold my leg. A twig broke under my hand.
[Awareness]: You have been spotted.
The Wendigo’s eyes snapped directly to Elincia and before I realized what I was doing, I pulled the trigger, shooting point blank directly into the creature’s head. The muzzle flash lit the forest for an instant and my ears rang. The Wendigo stumbled back, burying its claws on a tree to not fall. The creature clung there as the blood poured from its shattered skull.
“Gottem!” I yelled, thinking the Wendigo was as good as dead.
Elincia grabbed the neck of my jacket and pulled me back through the ferns just as the Wendigo raked its claws in a deadly arc just a few centimeters from my face. The creature screeched in anger.
“How in the flying spaghetti monster is that fucker’s alive?!” I said as Elincia pushed me behind a boulder, out of the Wendigo’s reach.
“I don’t know what spell you just used, but stay put.” The woman yelled but her voice came muffled under the insistent ringing in my ears. Luckily, [Awareness] helped piece together what she had said.
Without waiting for any confirmation she turned around and ran through the forest, putting some distance between herself and the Wendigo. Elincia’s bright emerald eyes shone behind the bushes as she nocked an arrow and pointed at the creature. I noted a surge of mana emerging from the woman's body and the arrow head shone with a silvery gleam. She let go and the arrow whistled with an unnaturally high pitch, burying deep into the wendigo's calf.
Piercing Arrow. [Identify] Basic archery skill that improves the projectile’s piercing capacity.
The Wendigo’s screech rocked my spine and I knew I needed to put an end to the fight quickly. If the creature had enough defense to withstand a point blank shot, it should also have similar offensive capabilities.
Ignoring Elincia’s commands, I peeked over the boulder. The forest was pitch-black and the skeletal figure of the Wendigo blended with the trees.
“Come on, Robert, use your head.”
I hoped Elincia’s night vision didn’t make her eyes too sensitive to bright lights.
Pushing the mana out of my body I conjured a cold blue flame in the palm of my hand that illuminated the forest around me. Shredded corpses of a dozen Black Wolves covered the landscape.
The Wendigo stopped in its tracks and turned its head towards the flame of mana in my hand.
“Crap.”
Without hesitation, I raised the muzzle of my shotgun and fired. The spray of metal shredded through the Wendigo’s spidery arm, leaving it hanging from a single tendon. The wound was gruesome but it wasn’t enough to stop it. The Wendigo glared at me and crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat.
With no time to reload, I dropped the shotgun and reached for my knife.
My hand closed around the handle of my knife and set my mana free. A swirl of shining blue particles surrounded me and turned the small knife into a blazing shortsword that lit the forest around me.
[Swordsmanship] injected information directly into my brain. Distance, speed, trajectory. The Wendigo tried to tear me apart but I sidestepped to the right just in time to dodge, then, I hacked diagonally but the mana sword bounced off the Wendigo's healthy arm, leaving only a small scratch.
It was harder than the Elder Black Wolf.
My mana sword was enough to cut the skin of the creature, I only needed more power. I poured even more mana into my knife turning it into a blue beacon in the dark casting the shadows of the forest away. The mana blade grew until it was the length of a two handed sword.
Blood stained the Wendigo’s cracked skull and its wounded arm flailed around lifelessly. It might not be weak to buckshot but it was weak to magic. And I had a lot of magic. The Wendigo followed me with its gleaming red eyes. Its movements were cautious but I didn’t let my guard down. I had to fight defensively. If the monster reached me once, it was over.
Suddenly, an arrow bounced off the Wendigo’s skin. The creature seemed to forget about me because it turned around and bolted towards Elincia. Just as the Black Wolf had attacked me back in the ravine, the Wendigo seemed to prioritize the weaker combatant.
“Run, now!” Elincia yelled at me. She stood her ground, nocking a second arrow and aiming at the three meter tall creature running her way.
“You run!” I replied as I ran behind the Wendigo while [Awareness] fed a stream of information directly into my brain. I couldn’t let it reach Elincia.
There was no time to retrieve and reload my shotgun and no time to experiment with [Mana Manipulation]. I remembered my new skill. [Stun Gaze].
Without even reading the skill’s description, I looked at the Wendigo and activated [Stun Gaze]. The spell hit the creature and bounced back at me. A stabbing pain shot through my eye, and into my brain. I let out a grunt of pain and pressed my free hand against my face.
Skill failed! Wendigo Lv.39 cannot be stunned. [Identify] Your level is too low to perform this action successfully.
[Stun Gaze] seemed to anger the Wendigo because it tried to stop its frantic race towards Elincia, stumbling on its ruined arm and crashing against a tree. I pumped even more mana into my knife and the blade got longer, broader, and heavier. Part of my brain wondered why a mana blade could have weight if the mana itself was weightless, but the wounded screech of the Wendigo silenced my thoughts.
I couldn’t allow fear to paralyze me if I wanted to save Elincia.
[Awareness]: Frightened status, resisted.
I let my mana flow free, further increasing its length until it was hard to wield. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been thrown into an ice-cold pool. A shiver ran down my spine and I knew I couldn’t sustain my technique for long. My mana pool was getting dry.
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Advanced). Temporary
I ignored the system prompt. The Wendigo towered over me and tried to reach me with its sharp claws. I blocked with my mana sword and with a furious strike, I shredded the Wendigo’s claws. The creature staggered back as I waved the sword around like a giant torch on its face.
Another shiver ran down my spine, threatening to lock my joints in place, and I knew I didn’t have much mana left at all.
I used [Stun Gaze] again and braced for the pain. The spell ricocheted back at me and I felt a stabbing sensation in my eye. This time, the Wendigo froze for a millisecond, just enough for my [Swordsmanship] to find an opening. I slashed downward from left to right, putting all my strength in a single attack.
The blade sliced through the Wendigo’s skin, meeting more resistance as it went deeper into the creature’s body until it lodged deep within its chest. Instinctively, I tried to retrieve the sword but it was stuck. I closed my eyes and waited for the Wendigo’s claws to shred my body. But the blow didn’t arrive.
Dark crimson bloom of blood stained the Wendigo's hide, illuminated by the fading light of the mana blade. The Wendigo produced one last weak screech and fell to the ground just as the light of my blade failed.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Critical). Temporary
My vision blurred and my legs faltered, the only thing that kept me on foot was the mana sword stuck in the Wendigo’s spine. When my last speck of mana was burned, the blade disappeared and I fell back but before I could hit the ground, Elincia caught me.
“We fucking did it!” Elincia said with a frenzied smile on her face. Then, she wrapped me in a tight hug that pushed all the air out of my lungs. I couldn’t help but notice how strong her arms were.
If I had to guess, she had leveled up a couple of times.
I didn't want the embrace to end but Elincia pushed me back and helped me sit on the forest bed. The moonlight shone a hole in the canopy, casting silver sparkles on her hair. She smiled enthusiastically and patted my back with a little too much strength.
“I swear I thought we were dead, but then you raised the metal thingy and bam! One arm less! You were pretty cool out there.” Elincia beamed. Her chest went up and down at an alarming rate and she had to take a moment to calm down. “I think I’m still a little deaf.” She added with a smile from ear to ear.
Leveling up was a hell of a drug.
“Praise me more.” I rasped as I let out a weak laugh. Both my body and my mana pool felt like a piñata at a children’s party.
Elincia’s expression suddenly became serious and a shadow of embarrassment flirted with her face. “Thanks for not ditching me back there, and I’m sorry if I was too harsh with you. You are a good man, Robert Clarke.”
I didn't know how to answer. It had been quite a while since I had received a compliment and my brain was too tired after being overfed by [Awareness]. I mumbled something unintelligible. Not even [Master of Languages] could help me to find the right words, however, I didn’t have to search more because a sudden prompt slapped my field of vision.
New title acquired!
Hot for Teacher. [Identify] Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I’m hot for teacher.
“I’m not a pathetic dude who falls for the first girl that talks nice to me…” I stuttered as my consciousness slowly slipped away. The edges of my sight slowly blurred.
You have obtained Denial Lv.1. Temporary.
“Oh, fuck off.”
Elincia’s worried face floated in front of me. “Rob? Are you okay? If you talk in your weird language I can’t understand.” She said with a hint of panic in her voice.
It might come off as judgmental and foolish, but I didn’t believe in love at first sight. It seemed too frivolous to me. No matter how cute, funny, and caring Elincia was, there was no way I was falling for her. And there was the fact she had a kid and, probably, a husband.
You have obtained Denial Lv.2. Temporary.
I wanted to fight back, fight against the idea I was falling in love, but my mouth couldn’t move anymore. The world around me darkened and my body became too heavy to sit straight. Elincia tried to keep me awake, first softly hitting my cheeks then shaking my shoulders. I tried to growl but no sound came through my lips.
“Rob? Rob? Don’t close your eyes, Rob.” Elincia said.
But I was so tired.
Elincia frantically searched her pouch for a small vial of translucent liquid. She pulled the cork and smelled the contents. Whatever scent she was looking for, it seemed to make the grade. Elincia opened my mouth and poured a drop beneath my tongue. I felt the effects of the potion spreading through my body, filling the hole inside my mana pool if only a little bit.
“Rob?”
The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Elincia’s concerned voice.
* * * * * *
I woke up with the first rays of sunlight next to the remains of a campfire. More specifically, my [Awareness] skill awakened me with a stream of information filling my brain. The sound of the birds, the position of the sun, my bodily condition. I ignored it all. I felt drained. If a creature wanted to eat me I couldn’t do much to defend myself.
No. I had made the decision to stay in this world, now I had to face the consequences of my actions. Begrudgingly I opened my eyes just to find Elincia sitting on the other side of the campfire, by her side there was my shotgun and my knife.
“Morning.” I greeted, stiffly sitting up and taking a long sip from my water bottle.
“Morning, hero.” She greeted me with one of her mischievous smiles. However, this time I noted a hint of mistrust in her voice.
“Something happened?” I cautiously asked. After receiving that silly title from the System I had dropped like a sack of potatoes. I glanced at Elincia, searching for answers, and I couldn’t help but notice both my weapons were on her side of the campfire.
“Look, I’m not accusing you of lying or anything, but you are not a Scholar.” Elincia said with a conflicted tone. “After what you did to the Wendigo last night I know you have a fairly high level. What are you really? A Runeblade? A Spellblade?”
“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.
Elincia’s bow rested on her lap.
“Killing a Wendigo isn’t a feat a low level Scholar could achieve, I’m not that dumb. So tell me what those skills were.” Elincia replied pointing at my weapons. “Your explosive spell pierced through the Wendigo’s skin but Scholars can’t learn Elemental magic. Much less such powerful spells. Same goes for your [Mana Blade]. That’s a Spellblade skill, not a Scholar skill.”
I stretched my back and drank another sip from my water bottle while [Awareness] filled my brain with information. Elincia’s accusations revealed that she couldn’t peek into my status screen. It was a relief to know the System had some sort of privacy settings in place considering my last title, but privacy also made things more difficult.
“The artifact you have next to you is called a shotgun. It is a non-magical item that shoots high speed metal pellets created by a… Tinkerer.” I explained but Elincias facial gesture still showed doubts. “You probably tried to use it but it doesn’t have ammo in it. You can’t shoot a bow without an arrow nor can you shoot a shotgun without one of these.” I added pulling one of the remaining two shells from my pocket.
“Explain.” She said.
Next, I proceeded to explain how to operate the shotgun. Elincia opened the barrels and I explained how the explosive powder sent the pellets through the barrel at ridiculously high speeds.
“I’m not going to perform a demonstration because I only have two shells left. Without ammo, a shotgun is as good as a club.” I said as Elincia tried the mechanism without a shell inside the chamber. Bow and arrow safety might be similar to trigger discipline because Elincia kept the muzzle away from any of us and only put the finger on the trigger when she was going to shoot.
“What about the [Mana Blade]? There is no way your knife is a magic item, no matter how much mana I poured into it I couldn’t make it work.” Elincia continued with the interrogation.
“What do you mean? That was [Mana Manipulation].” I replied, summoning a small mana knife in the palm of my hand with the leftover magic power I had. Elincia’s mouth gaped.
“You are mana depleted! You are not supposed to be able to do that!” The half-elf woman jumped on her feet. “You can’t materialize a magic blade without the proper skill!”
I shrugged my shoulders and shaped a second mana knife.
I already suspected that my mana pool was something out of the ordinary and now I knew to what degree. The amount of mana I had was probably thanks to the System. The thought of telling her about my world crossed my mind. A world without magic, without classes, and without skills. A world where one had to practice for years and years to become minimally proficient at any task. I wanted to tell Elincia about the marvels of the modern world but I feared she took it as the words of a madman.
People who claimed to have traveled to other dimensions were deemed crazy back on Earth. In these lands it couldn't be much different. For Elincia, a systemless world might sound like a thing from fantasy.
In another situation I would’ve dismissed the allegations calling them baseless, however, deep down I wanted Elincia to believe in me. I scratched my chin, deep in thought. Actually, there was something I could try that might prove that I was a Scholar.
I used [Identify] on her.
Name: Elincia Rosebud, Half-Elf (Light-Footed, Night Vision).
Class: Alchemist Lv.26
Titles: Governess, Wild Child, Bad Reputation, Loner, Copper Alchemist, Favorite Teacher (5).
Passive: Archery Lv.3, Tracking Lv.5, Farsight Lv.1, Foraging Lv.5, Purify Water.
Skills: Potion Crafting Lv.3, True Shot Lv.1, Piercing Shot Lv.1.
Elincia’s potion pouch hit my face before I could react, breaking the skill contact and vanishing her character sheet.
“Hey! Are you identifying me?” She said in an unusually high pitch.
The half-elf cheeks were fiery red, contrasting with her usual paleness. While her hand searched for another projectile to throw in my direction, I pondered about my findings. Elincia’s skills and passives were fairly low level compared to her class level. It was possible both numbers were independent from each other. Class level might rise by gaining experience from monsters while passives and skills might grow by mastering said skills.
A twig hit my forehead, crashing my train of thought. At least I had discovered the etiquette regarding identifying other people. Despite the fact I would’ve died of shame if someone saw my titles, I tried to identify Elincia one more time as vengeance for the twig.
“Okay, okay, okay! You are a Scholar, I believe you! I’ll fulfill my part of the bargain. I’ll take you to Farcrest.” Elincia said, trying to regain some composure. She was still red as a beet. “But that doesn’t mean I completely trust you, hero.”
____________
First Prev Next
____________
Discord Royal Road

So I (F25) am currently planning a wedding for May 2024. My fiance (M26) and I were planning to do a partial byob wedding where we provide wine at the tables and a limited/select amount of alcohol at the reception, open bar style (yes we have day of event insurance and yes there would be a specific cutesy sign stating 21+ as there is no bar tender to serve. We have also been attempting to limit the amount of under 21 guests that are invited to the event), but then ask the guests that if they would "prefer their own specific poison" to feel free to bring it themselves. My mother (F49) has been having a hard time coming to terms with this because she is afraid that it will be perceived as tacky for being byob and not being served especially because when she got married 25 years ago this would have been seen as rude and tacky for asking guests to bring things to the wedding. I see where she is coming from as the reception is for the guests however, I have been to quite a few byob weddings and have not seen any issues with it or even seen it as tacky (granted a lot of those weddings were back yard weddings and our wedding is at a venue though stilk a tent/backyard kind of feel to it). I see it as, it's not asking guests to directly bring their own alcohol if they want to drink but instead, stating if they choose to bring something they can feel free to however, there will be choices there they can choose from and they are not obligated to bring anything. I see it as just giving the guests options and the opportunity to bring something they like if they dont think we will have that option but still providing for the guests. Is this tacky and I am I missing something?
I also want to state my mother is coming around to the idea and really trying but is still struggling as she was raised strict and to believe perception is extremely important. Knowing that she was struggling with it so much has made me question what I want to do. Am I missing something and this truly is tacky and rude or is it just a possible miscommunication/ my mother's own struggles with her ideals, values, beliefs, and childhood experiences?

So what happened was I hung out with my bf till around 12:30am. It was late and my phone was on mute so I didn't know my dad and sister called/texted me. I know it was my fault that I should've checked the phone, and this isn't the first time I've hung out with my bf so late and didn't reply to my dad at all.
I apologized to my sister, and I wanted to apologize to my dad because I did genuinely feel bad. But when I went to my dad and said "I'd like to talk to you" he went on and proceeded to say "I don't want to talk to you. You never answer my calls or texts, and you lie to me all the time. Always lieing. You don't love me, and I dont love you. I dont care how long you stay out anymore. Go do whatever you want."
For some background info: he does not know i have a bf. So I've been telling him I've been hanging out with freinds. I do tell him where I go, like the mall, stores, parks, etc. I just dont mention my bf. He is black and my parents are racist. So I don't want to deal with the yelling that I know would happen if they ever found out I was dating someone who was black.
Thing is, I don't understand why he said that to me. He never said this to my older brothers. He knows they sexually abused me as a kid. When I told him, he still wanted to talk to them. At first he didn't believe me but he said he did eventually. My mom doesn't believe me, and thinks I'm lieing. When cps spoke with my dad my dad said he was on my side. He started to realize my moms disgusting behavior and told me they are now separated. I honestly thought everything was going okay with my dad between him and I. I thought he was beginning to understand what was going on at home.
Problem is he is all of a sudden very lovey dovey with my mom. And even went on a cruise for her on mother's day with both of my brothers without ever telling me or my sister. We found out when they were talking over the phone. My parents do this a lot where they up and go without ever telling us. And id be confused growing up where my parents were. So me going out 1 to 2 times a week, staying out late all of a sudden was kinda out of the blue for them. Me not answering my dads messages was kinda me just being mad at him for always up and leaving to places without telling me, and becoming close to my mom and brothers all of a sudden.
I still feel bad. Am I crazy? Am I genuinely in the wrong here? I just don't understand why he would say something like that to me, when I didnt answer his messages or texts, but wouldn't say it to my brothers when he found out what they did to me.

Mostly just for fun and practice, I have been working on a homebrewed artificer subclass for an automaton character (I'll post the race stats I'm working on in a comment, for those interested). I have been trying to keep it flexible, fun, and thematically satisfying without being overpowered or overshadowing other players. I am of the opinion that you win DnD when everyone involved is having a lot of fun, and that fun is most had when everything is well-balanced and everyone can do cool things and shares the spotlight. I am fully aware that everything is ultimately up to the DM I play with and that party balance is also an important factor. I have done my best to compare this to preexisting subclasses, spells, and features to keep this balanced, but I'd love outside input. As I said this is mostly a fun experiment that I don't really expect to ever get to play, but I enjoy the creative process.
Thanks for taking the time to offer opinions if you decide to do so. And feel free to use any part of this as inspiration for your own homebrewed stuff. Happy adventuring!
​
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Artificial Artificer
Expanded Spells (Similar to Battlesmith)
3rd Level Feature
Choose 2 extra cantrips from the Artificer spell list. Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Artificial Artificer Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
​

Artificer Level	Spells
3rd	Identify, Shield
5th	Knock, Misty Step
9th	Counterspell, Fireball
13th	Greater Invisibility, Wall of Fire
17th	Telekinesis, Teleportation Circle

​
Tool Proficiency (Similar to Battlesmith)
3rd Level Feature
When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in one type of artisan's tools of your choice.
Create Familiar (Improved and reskinned version of Find Familiar)
3rd Level Feature
Crafting Time: 1 hour
Tools: Artisan’s, Smith’s, or Tinker’s tools
Components: S M (20 gp worth of a strong material such as metal or wood, glass, and precious gems)

• Once per long rest, you craft a tiny familiar that takes on any form you choose; it uses the statistics of any of the following creatures: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel, though it is a construct instead of a beast.
• Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it shares your initiative and acts during your turn. It can attack on its own or perform any other action in its stat block.
• If your familiar is within 60 ft of you, you can cast spells (cantrips or 1st level, requiring an action or bonus action) through it. This counts as a combined action and takes the action or bonus action of both of your turns. You cannot cast spells through it as part of your reaction, but it can take its own reactions, if available. If your familiar is within 5 feet of an ally, your familiar can use its reaction to block a successful attack roll against that ally, taking all of the attack’s damage.
• While your familiar is within 200 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
• When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it leaves behind a pile of unusable debris. Your familiar is resistant to healing spells and potions. The mending cantrip can be used to heal your familiar 1d4 + your spellcasting modifier. When not in use, your familiar can be stored in a compartment on your body. Your familiar will regain full HP when stored this way during a long rest.
• You can’t have more than one familiar at a time. If your familiar has at least one hit point, you may reconfigure it into a new form without extra material components.

Integrated Offense (Made this one from scratch, but kind of similar to Battle Ready)
3rd Level Feature
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to integrate your artificial body with offensive capabilities. You can integrate up to two simple or martial weapons into your body, one on each arm. While integrated, you are proficient with these weapons. When you attack with your integrated weapons, you use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls.
These integrated weapons can be drawn or stowed as part of the same action you use to attack with them. If an integrated weapon is separated from your body, it becomes unusable unless you spend time and material resources reconstructing it.
​
​
Artificial Arcanum (Intent here is to provide options for a weaker version of Arcane Recovery or to choose one of two unique abilities. Not sure how much the flexibility might make this overpowered)
5th Level Feature
At 5th level, you have developed an internal magical energy storage system. Once per long rest, you can utilize this stored energy in one of the following ways:
Option 1: Spellcraft Charge
The advanced energy storage mechanisms within your automaton body allow you to store a reservoir of spellcasting power. You can store a number of spell levels equal to your proficiency bonus. Whenever you cast a spell, you can choose to expend stored spell levels instead of using your own spell slots. This feature provides you with an alternative means of casting spells, conserving your own magical resources.
Option 2: Ethereal Circuitry
Your energy storage system can be expended to alter the magiphysical vibrations of your physical form, allowing it to phase through solid objects. By expending your available energy storage, you can activate your ethereal circuitry. For the duration of this activation, you gain the ability to move through up to 5 feet of solid material, as if it were insubstantial. Alternatively, if an enemy successfully hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to activate your ethereal circuitry, causing that hit to miss. This ability extends to subsequent attacks made by the same enemy on their turn.
Option 3: Momentum Burst
Harnessing the stored kinetic energy within your automaton body, you can unleash a powerful burst of speed and agility. Once per day, as a bonus action, you can activate your Momentum Burst. This grants you the ability to move up to 8 times your movement speed for the current turn. Additionally, your next attack roll made on the same turn has advantage, benefiting from the momentum and precision of your swift movement. However, if that attack misses, the next enemy to attack you before your next turn gains advantage on their attack roll, capitalizing on the momentary vulnerability caused by your aggressive maneuvering.
​
​
Enhanced Familiar (This level seems a common time to improve previously acquired class features)
9th Level Feature
At 9th level, your mastery over the art of artifice extends to the enhancement of your familiar, allowing it to excel in various aspects. When you craft your familiar, you can choose one of the following options: Combined Utility, Enhanced Offense, or Enhanced Defense. Crafting a familiar in this way requires 50GP worth of the relevant material components, rather than 20)
Combined Utility:
With this option, you can combine the non-combat capabilities of two creatures into one familiar, creating a versatile and adaptable companion. By melding the essence of these creatures together, your familiar gains a range of utility features and abilities. For example, you can combine the bat and octopus to create a mechanical familiar that can fly, has blindsight, and can swim and breathe underwater. The familiar crafted through this option utilizes the higher ability scores and skill values between the two creatures, providing a powerful tool for exploration and problem-solving.
Enhanced Offense:
If you choose the Enhanced Offense option, your familiar gains a potent attack ability to aid you in combat. It gains the Miniature Fireball attack, which deals 2d8 fire damage in a 5-foot radius, requiring a Dexterity saving throw for half damage. The number of uses of this ability is limited to your proficiency bonus, uses are regained during a long rest. You can also use your bonus action to command the familiar to self-destruct, causing 3d8 fire damage to anyone within a 30-foot radius. You must have at least one use remaining and using this effect drops your Familiar’s Hit Points to 0.
Enhanced Defense:
With the Enhanced Defense option, you bolster your familiar's resilience and endurance. Your familiar gains additional hit points equal to your spellcaster level, making it more durable in combat. Furthermore, it gains the Relentless Endurance feature, allowing it to endure the most devastating blows. When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, your familiar can drop to 1 hit point instead. This ability can only be used once and is regained after a long rest.
​
​
Artifice Mastery (Again made this one up from scratch, but tried to keep it balanced with other 15th level features)
15th Level Feature
At 15th level, your mastery over magical manipulation reaches new heights. You gain the following benefits:
Masterful Construction: When you create a construct using your Create Familiar feature, you can craft your familiar with two of the three options specified in the Enhanced Familiar feature. Crafting a familiar in this way requires 100GP worth of the relevant material components, rather than 20. Your familiar’s blocking reaction also has an increased range of 10ft.
Nullification Shield: Once per long rest, you can use your reaction to erect an arcane shield to absorb damage from an attack that makes a successful hit against you. This shield absorbs up to 5d10 points of damage before dissipating, any remaining non-physical damage is taken by you as normal. You can also cast this through your familiar if it is used to block an attack: doing this uses both of your reactions.

I see a lot of expats posting about problems and challenges in their new country, and I am not objecting to that. When you're unhappy, this can be a good place to find some support or at least a sympathetic ear. But I've lived outside of my home country for nearly three decades now, and I'd like to share my story and some of the positives I've experienced.
I was born and raised in Norway. By all accounts, that's winning the birth lottery. I'm proud to be Norwegian, and that will always be a part of my identity. However, in my teens, small town Norway felt kind of boring, and I wanted an adventure, so I went on a pilgrimage.
I was a computer geek before geeks became popular. When you're a computer geek, Mecca is in Silicon Valley, or at least it was back then. And so for my first real trip outside of Scandinavia, I moved to California as a high school exchange student.
High school was different. There was homesickness, but there were also new friends, new activities and a whole new climate. I arrived proficient in reading and writing English, but my spoken accent was very characteristically Norwegian. By the time I left, I was basically fluent. A slight accent remained, but it was no longer a barrier to communication.
I came home with a very pro-US viewpoint. I was dazzled by this land of opportunity, and in retrospect, I was overlooking some of the negatives, even back then. But I decided that I wanted to go back to the US for college.
I did exactly that. This time, I moved to Texas and enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. This was my first experience really trying to live on my own (in California, I had had a host family) and it would be a lie to say that the international factor didn't make it extra intimidating. My dorm roommate told me he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be that far away from his family. Then his parents moved from Houston, Texas to Fairbanks, Alaska, so I guess he got to find out.
Even I can't find anything positive to say about dorm food, and there were some other problems. Surviving and thriving on a student budget could be tough, for one thing. But there's a silver lining to every cloud. I was able to obtain an off-campus work permit by showing the US government that the strengthening dollar had left my scholarship (in Norwegian currency) inadequate. Work permit in hand, one of the easiest student jobs I could find was a bus driver position with the university shuttle system. Not exactly your typical job for a computer science student, but it paid surprisingly well and I could schedule my shifts around my classes, so it proved a great fit. The only drawback was that junior drivers got no work over the summer when the university ran a much reduced bus schedule.
I solved that conundrum by going into trucking...helped in part by a really nice road trip I had stumbled into with a trucker friend the previous year, and by statements from him and others that I wasn't the trucker type and would never make it in that industry (challenged accepted!) Over the next few years, I was a college student from September through May, and drove trucks coast-to-coast every summer. I made it through 46 states and got paid to see the country.
That likely wouldn't have happened in Norway. Not because Norway doesn't have truckers, but because that kind of random detour from the "ideal" career path wouldn't sit well with Norwegian society. Norway likes social order. America likes individualism. I found that American friends found my little detour into trucking cool while Norwegian friends mostly just found it...odd.
Fast-forward a few years, and my first job offer out of college landed in my lap very unexpectedly. Through a friend in Norway, I landed my first full-time job. However, it wasn't in the US. Or in Norway. It was in Vienna, Austria. And it was too good to turn down, especially in an IT job market on life support after the .com bubble burst.
So I packed my bags and moved to Vienna. I still had an overly positive view of the US, although the way the US conducted itself in the wake of 9/11 would shake those convictions to the core. The job in Austria was fantastic in every way, I had fun at work, I had supportive coworkers...and then I had a few challenges.
One of them is that I have asthma. And in Austria in 2001, people still smoked inside. The first thing that happened in my new job is that I had to walk in and tell the three people I was sharing an office with that they could no longer smoke in the office. Thankfully, HR backed me up, but that didn't exactly win me any popularity contests I tried to be humble and explain as best I could that the asthma was beyond my control, and that did work...eventually. The ice thawed, and I settled into my new job.
But what about when it was time to go home? I did not have much of a social life at first. In the beginning, I could blame the language barrier -- much like my school English, my school German was inadequate at first. My coworkers were mostly fluent in English; the rest of Austrian society, not so much. And after all, I was in their country, it was only proper that I should learn THEIR language. So I put a lot of effort into that, speaking German with my coworkers and with anyone else who would put up with me. This was when I ran into another typical expat problem: Whenever I encountered an Austrian who spoke English, he/she would detect my foreign accent and switch to English unprompted. It took me a while to pick up on Austrian accents in general and Viennese German in particular, but eventually, I did.
That still didn't help my social life. Nor did the fact that bars and other similar venues were off-limits due to the aforementioned asthma. My coworkers were nice and polite, but Austria seems to have a bit of a taboo against socializing with coworkers outside of work. Truth be told, this is a nut I never quite did manage to crack. I did eventually make a number of friends in Austria, but the majority were fellow expats.
One of those friends was an American who had moved to Austria for personal reasons, but still tried to run a business along with a business partner of his back in Florida. To make an already-long story somewhat shorter, they hired me on a skilled worker visa and I moved back to the United States. I was excited to be in the US again, and I was not sorry to leave Austria behind. But I also don't regret taking the opportunity I was given in Vienna. I learned a lot from my years there.
Since then, my career path has been more normal. I've mostly lived in Florida since, with the exception of a few years back in Norway during the Great Recession. Even then, I wound up working for a well-known US company, so I'd sit in Norway fielding conference calls from Oklahoma and Texas. Then I moved back to Florida again because my wife (now ex-wife) decided she didn't want to live in Norway. At this point, I've lived in Florida continuously since 2012. And while I miss friends and family in Norway, life in Florida has been good to me. I've met great people here, and I've had adventures that wouldn't have been possible back home.
My asthma likes the Florida climate. Warm and humid sounds like a nightmare to some, but that warmth opens up my lungs and the humidity keeps the worst of the pollen out of the air. On the social scene, many Europeans call Americans "superficial", but I find that makes it easier to break the ice and make friends. So not everyone you meet is going to be your new BFF, but what's the harm in meeting them anyway?
People often ask me why I would leave Norway when the quality of life there is "so much better" (their words, not mine.) But quality of life is subjective. Sure, there are things I like better in Norway than in the US, but the reverse is also true.
Life has not been the straightforward path I'd envisioned in my teens, but it has been an adventure so far, and I can't wait to see what's around the next corner.

Looking for some advice. A very close loved one passed away last weekend and it has me evaluating what I want to do for the rest of my career.
I have been working in Human Resources/IT for the last 10 and a half years in a large hospital system and am making about $65K/yr. I’m getting tired of the corporate environment and the 9-5 schedule. Anyone have any suggestions on alternate career paths for an MBA?
My top skills include customer service, data entry, and working in Microsoft software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
My top interests/hobbies outside of work include computers, bowling, cars, simple construction, and walking/working out.
I have worked from home since March of 2020 and prefer to work primarily remotely. I’m not opposed to commuting (I love driving), but not during the “normal commute hours”.
I’m open to obtaining new education/certifications as well if needed.
Any suggestions and ideas are welcome.

I had my TFMR due to T21 on 5/15. I have two children already, and we were devastated that our third musketeer wouldn't be coming home with us. Hubs and I are both open to trying again, but obviously everything is still fresh and I'm trying to take it one day at a time. I just hate thinking this is how my journey ends.
For those of you who tried again, how long did you wait? And what factored into your decision?

Okay so i just need to start this by saying cheese is absolutely incredible, it's actually insane how good of a food it is overall. Cheese is like the only food that works with almost anything, it's so ridiculously versatile that not meals on average have cheese in them far far more often than not. It even works with straight up stupid combinations like one i saw the other day, "pear and cheese salad". It was just pear, cheese and mayonaise but supposedly it worked surprisingly well together (according to my sister who's quality of tastes vary greatly. I don't fully trust them truthfully). All the best foods also make great use of cheese as well, let me give you a few examples here: Spaghetti, Pizza, baked potatoes, mac-n-cheese, chicken alfredo, lasagna, cheeseburgers, and many many more. Don't even get me started on the various different cheese types and qualities such as: cheddar, swiss, feta, blue cheese, provolone, pepperjack, white cheddar, ricotta, brie, gouda and so many more as well. There are some people who just don't get it, some aliens perhaps that hate eating cheese on anything. I cannot understand them in the slightest, how can you not foam at the mouth when someone offers you a cheesy meal like mac-n-cheese? How do you eat hamburgers without cheese on them or eat sandwiches without any cheesy flavor? Insanity, truly.
Reminds me of a meme i once saw about southern american men gifting their girlfriends massive cheese wheels as a gift on dates, and they weren't appreciative!! WHAT? People need to get their fucking priorities straight, any sane person would prefer a cheese wheel over a ring or fancy dinner. Some people just don't understand true southern values and the amount of hard work that goes into fiddling cow nipples for some milk to make cheese with. They just don't get it. Fuckers are blind to the wonderful world of cheese and milk, they'd rather eat hot chips and drink tea and coffee. They're in their own world of darkness, unaware of the beautiful basting light of cheesy goodness. Okay maybe SOME of those hot chips have cheese but they don't even notice!! they eat chips that are so spicy that they can't even taste the fucking cheese so it doesn't count. I swear if one more person gives me another negative opinion about cheese, i'm gonna put holes in my wall. Many many holes, with my fists and with weaponry, even guns. Nobody insults my favorite fucking food, EVER. I play the game skyrim JUST because it has cheesewheels in it. I buy a house in the game and just explore the world collecting every single cheese object in the game and storing it in my house, i don't even play the game the way its intended or to progress the story, JUST CHEESE. A peek into my cheesy mind would make one simply go insane, they can't handle a reality as yellow as mine, the average brain is unable to accurately comprehend the true omniscient godliness of cheddar and swiss. I am enlightened, i am gifted with divine cheesy knowledge of the universe and it's most delicious food.
I sleep on a pillow padded with cheese, filled with cheese. I sleep on a water-bed and.. you guessed it, it's filled with cheese too of course. I even go as far as to wash my clothes in cheese sauce (no soap, it ruins the cheesy aroma). But if you thought it stops there, oh boy, you are sorely mistaken little one. I broke my leg one time, shattered the femur bone into a billion pieces and i had the surgeon replace my femur with a solid cylinder of hardened cheese, a massive concrete cheese pole, sturdy and built for walking. I am one with the cheese, i'm becoming cheesy, cheese-man they sometimes call me (no they don't, i just made that up). But hey did i ever tell you about the time i built a car out of cheese, FROM SCRATCH!? That's right, i shit you not, i built an entire car by hand entirely from cheese. The wheels were cheese wheels screwed on with carved cheese bolts and nuts, the motor was a standard piston motor made out of beautifully aged gouda cheese, and it didn't run on gasolinr either. What it ran on was a specialty type of cheese sauce (surprising i know) but it was a kind of cheese sauce that apparently they don't sell around here anymore so i can't drive my car anymore, yay. Also i made a second grave error that ruined my car, the gasoline tank was made of swiss cheese, i'm not sure uf you've seen swiss but its typically full of holes and you know, in hindsight maybe making my gas tank have millions of holes in it was kind of barely a slightly godawful idea perhaps. I was driving one time unaware of the disaster i had created and was currently driving on the road when suddenly i smelled an interesting yet stenchy odor. It hit me like a truck (the smell did, i didn't get hit by an actual truck, that part of thr story comes later on) but yeah i smelled a stinky cheesy aroma and like a smoky smell too? It smelled like someone was genuinely smoking cheese in my backseat, so i turned around and i kid you not, the back of my car was fucking flaming and my back cheese wheels were melting off. Let me tell you, there's no doubt about it, i almost shit my pants. But i'm not a pussy so i turned around and hit the emergency eject button to launch myself out through the sunroof in the ceiling of the car and i flew through the air probably miles high. I nearly got hit by an incoming plane (dipshit). Then i deployed my parachute i made in case of emergencies but damn i'm stupid as shit, i made the same mistake twice. My parachute was made out of swiss as well, all full of holes, so i started plummeting. I started panicking not gonna lie but i remembered something! My backup cheese slices! (I keep thousands of cheese slices in my right pocket just in case i get hungry while im out). So i ripped those bad boys open and started patching the holes of the parachute and you wouldn't believe me normally but im living proof since im typing this... I lived! I lived through that catastrophe, but don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't the cheese's fault, it was my own. I just don't want you getting the wrong idea about cheese, they're a good fellow.
Did i ever mention the time i accidentally crippled an elderly lady with cheese? So, funny story, i was setting up a hilarious prank for my friend (i don't have friends, i fully intended on crippling this lady) and i laid an extra slippery puddle of liquid cheese on the sidewalk when nobody was looking. Then i covered it in a thin layer of leaves, in hindsight that makes no fucking sense and basically anyone with half a braincell would notice the pile of leaves as an obvioud trap or pitfall, I'm just lucky the old lady is absolutely not intelligent like me. Anyways, i camp up in a nearby tree with binoculars and watch from afar while snacking on my tiny cheese cubes. I see this old lady, about yay high and covered from head to toe in floral patterns and colors that make me feel like im on a drug trip. She takes a few steps with her cane in hand before stepping on the cheese and man.. SHE WENT FUCKING FLYING BRO LMAO. That poor mf went skateboarding down a hill but using her face as the skateboard. I choked on a cheese cube from laughter and ended up spilling them all over the place, hate to waste them but that laughter was uncontrollable. All the nearby pedestrians rushed to help the old lady and i just started throwing cheese cubes at them for fun, hitting them in the head. I remember vividly one guy shouting, "WHO IN THE FUCK IS THROWING CHEESE CURDS AT MY FUCKING HEAD?" and then i threw one into his mouth-hole, he stopped yelling after that and kept his mouth shut. Anyways, after a day's work i went home and eventually i heard on the news that the lady broke all of her legs (she should get cheese femurs like me fr) and that they were putting a bounty on the head of the "Cheese Trapper" Kind of a shitty nickname but whatever, i'll take what i can get i suppose. God, i love cheese.

Will and Denzel are both being developed into such lovely characters. I love the way they are portrayed. I shudder to think what various tragedies and traumas the square will have in store for them.

My (22f) husband (27m) says things sometimes that I just cannot stand.
I came outside with my husband and son sat out there for a bit. My husband tried going back inside and the door is locked. He looked at me and goes “why would you lock the door?” I obviously have no recollection of locking the door. I told him I didn’t remember ever locking the door. He just said “what is wrong with you” and now won’t talk to me after crawling through the window to unlock the door. I get that it’s a frustrating situation but at the same time I don’t feel like he should be talking to me that way because I made a simple mistake. Also it took two seconds to open the window and get inside.
And if I’m doing something and there are dishes in the sink he will be in the kitchen and yell “hey come do the dishes”. I walk over there after a while and tell him I don’t take orders from him. Like why not ask nicely or say it in a nice way? Things he says just rubs me the wrong way. Any time he messes up I don’t look down at him for doing it and say mean things. I don’t know how to feel.